MacMurray awarded tiller for community garden

June 27, 2013

MacMurray College’s Social Work Program was selected from a pool of more than 350 applicants as one of the recipients of the 2013 Mantis Tiller Award administered by the National Gardening Association and funded by Schiller Grounds, Inc.

Mendy Overly, of Jacksonville, IL, a senior social work major and chair of the Social Work Program’s Environmental Justice Council, wrote and submitted the application under the guidance of Dr. Joe Squillace, director of the program.

The tiller will be used to prepare a garden on the south side of MacMurray Hall on East College Avenue. The garden, maintained by the Social Work Club, has been in operation for two years feeding and engaging the community.

“The tiller will improve our efficiency for maintaining the garden to meet our goals of assisting with hunger in the Jacksonville community and integrating partnerships with community programs,” said Dr. Squillace.

MacMurray College was selected based on a combination of clearly stated goals, organized planning for the garden and well-developed plans for incorporating youth into garden programming.